


Our House

by The_Prince_of_Dots



Category: Thomas Sanders
Genre: Gen, Patton as a dad, Teacher Logan, pre Anxiety name reveal, pre room reveals, the mindscape as a neighborhood instead of four separate rooms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-13
Updated: 2017-10-13
Packaged: 2019-01-16 17:08:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12346989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Prince_of_Dots/pseuds/The_Prince_of_Dots
Summary: Everyone ends up at Logan and Patton’s houses at some point.





	Our House

Everyone ended up at Logan and Patton’s houses at some point or another. That was just how things were. Everyone knew where the two lived, in the innocently named “Logicality Suburbs” of the mindscape. The two weren’t exactly neighbors, living a couple blocks from each other, but they were close enough. Close enough to say “With you, I’m always home.”

Patton loved being at home. He was a father, and enjoyed every minute of being a typical suburban dad. He had two children that he loved spending time with, and a wealth of neighbors who he could help and have barbeques with. He made cookies for his kids’ bake sales, mowed the lawn, invited Susan and Brenda over for tea and gossip, and in general, if he wasn’t helping out Thomas, he was in the home, enjoying life.

Roman visited Patton when he wanted to experience “the average life.” Most often, he was off slaying dragons, visiting castles, attending balls, and rescuing princes and princesses, never staying in one place, and with no real place to call home. Often, he considered “anywhere he could see stars” as being his home. Still, sometimes it was nice to imagine a realistic future. Sometimes it was comforting to feel like he could be part of a family, and while Patton had no spouse, seeing him live one of Thomas’s “happily ever after” scenarios often revitalized Roman when he felt weary and his creativity had dried up.

Logan visited Patton’s side of the suburbs when he craved distraction. Sometimes, the essays from the figment students were too bothersome to grade, or the plans he made for Thomas simply wouldn’t come together. Some days, he was just lonely, and Patton’s frequent barbeques or baking activities could distract him enough to almost forget that he didn’t really have friends. Sure, his relationship with Anxiety had leveled up from “casually bickering all the time,” and he and Patton were constantly at each other’s house, or at a PTA meeting together, or working together to make the figment neighbors act more normal, but he and the emotional sides still had a significant disconnect, and he wasn’t sure they would ever bridge that gap. And Roman? While the creative side had never openly stated that he disliked Logan, as he had with Anxiety, it was clear that they were natural antagonists. Imagination and Logic were not naturally aspects that went together well, and any alliances they had made in the past were short-lived and created only to keep the emotional traits in check. So while he accepted that he wouldn’t have friends, when the thoughts in his mind were too much, he went to play pretend with everyone else in the suburb.

Anxiety visited Patton when he needed constancy. Nothing ever stayed the same in his part of the mindscape, not even his own house. It was impossible to tell what was real and what was just the Fears and Insecurities messing around and shifting the shapes of things. But Patton’s house? The layout was always clear and easy to remember. The kids were always the same age, and always eager to talk to their “older cousin.” The cookies always tasted the same, the grilled burgers were always the same shade of overcooked, and the door was always unlocked. So when it got to the point beyond “something is wrong” and Anxiety was so frazzled that no one could think straight, Anxiety went to see Patton.

Logan’s house was a less visited, though no less important, part of the mindscape. Even he wasn’t there very often. Logan considered his home to be in the classroom, so even when there were no children, he was often there, putting student art on the walls, grading papers, preparing for parent-teacher conferences, or chatting with the other teacher figments. So when he went back to his house, it was because he wanted quiet. His home was where he went to get away from everything and everyone. It didn’t always work out that way, but often, his house served as a quiet place of refuge.

Patton went to Logan’s house when he wanted an escape. Certainly, he loved being a parent and neighbor, but sometimes the kids were too loud, the neighbors too nosy, and the entire block was just too busy. When that happened, he went to Logan’s, where there was always a guarantee of calm bachelorhood waiting with a coffee in one hand and a logical outlook in the other. Logan could provide a couch and silent company when Patton just needed to unfrazzle his senses, or an ear and some practical advice when Patton wanted to talk things through.

Anxiety visited Logan when he needed comfort. It might seem odd, at first–after all, Patton was far better with dealing with emotions–but Logan could calm Anxiety far better than any of the others. When he was overwrought, Logan could calmly point out the fallacies that Anxiety had made in order to get to that point, and logically explain why things would naturally turn out more positive than what Anxiety imagined. When he had worked himself up so much that he was having an attack, Logan provided a soothing voice and a quiet environment that slowly and surely brought him back to a calmer place. Logan’s rationality worked wonders for Anxiety’s mental state, and even when he was calm, Anxiety enjoyed debating through fears and insecurities, because Logan could tell him that things were going to turn out alright, objectively.

Roman rarely came to Logan, but when he did, it was to feel grounded. Every once in a while, Roman would spend too much time in the imagination, to the point where Imagination ran away with him, and he couldn’t tell what was reasonable and what was preposterous. In Logan’s home realm, Logic was the most powerful force. Just being there cleared Roman’s head, letting him separate fantasy and reality once more. The two opposing sides didn’t even have to talk about anything related to that for it to work. They could argue as they always did, and Roman would still feel Imagination’s grip on him loosen. He would never say it, but he was grateful for Logan’s effect. After all, while Creativity relied on Imagination, he needed to know what the reality of a situation was, or he would prescribe climbing towers or slaying dragon-witches as the solutions to all of Thomas’s problems.

The two houses, though very near in distance, were worlds apart. They were nearly opposites in moods and use, and yet both were probably the most important parts of the mindscape. They were the pillars of Thomas, much like the two that inhabited them.


End file.
